Pyrenean Institute of Ecology, Spanish National Research Council (IPE-CSIC)

Event place (city) :

Zaragoza

Event country :

spain

Keywords :

[en] Speleothem ; Holocene ; cold events

Abstract :

[en] Speleothem is now regarded as valuable archive of climatic conditions on the continents, offering a number of advantages relative to other continental climate proxy recorders such as lake sediments and peat cores. High spatial resolution measurements of Mg, Al, Sr, Ba were realized by using laser-ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in the Belgian Pere Noel cave. A stalagmite from the Pere Noel (PN) cave representing 12000 years dated by U/Th method. Trace element variations in speleothem are a reflection of hydrochemical conditions. These changes were interpreted as indications of changes in climate in the Han-sur-Lesse region. The similar patterns found in δ 18O, δ 13C and chemical composition along the Pere Noel stalagmite suggests that trace elements in speleothems have the potential to provide high resolution insights into palaeoclimatic variability during the Holocene. A deeper analysis reveals several periods of significant rapid climate change during the Holocene (at 10.7-9.2 ka, 8.2-7.9 ka, 7.2-6.2 ka, 4.8-4.5 ka, and 3-2.4 ka BP), which are similar to the cold events detected from different natural paleoclimate archivers. A comparison between the geochemical analysis of Père Noël speleothem and solar activity (sunspot number) reveals a significant correlation. Spectral analysis methods reveal common solar periodicities (Gleissberg cycle, de Vries cycle, unnamed 500 year, Eddy cycles, and Hallstatt cycle). The geochemical analyses have the potential to prove that PN speleothem is sensitive to changes in solar activity on centennial and millennial timescales during the Holocene.